Plight and Resilience: The Experiences of Former Afghan Female Government Employees Under Taliban Rule

Abstract Book of the 12th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2026

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Plight and Resilience: The Experiences of Former Afghan Female Government Employees Under Taliban Rule

Abdul Waris Khoram

ABSTRACT:

In August 2021, following the Taliban’s return to power, women were systematically excluded from public sector employment in Afghanistan, abruptly transforming their professional lives, economic security, and social identities. This study examines the challenges and resilience of former Afghan women government employees affected by the Taliban’s employment ban, focusing on the gendered nature of state-imposed exclusion, its socioeconomic consequences, and the coping strategies developed in response to enforced unemployment. Adopting a mixed-methods research framework, the study draws on data collected through structured questionnaires and in-depth qualitative interviews with former female public sector employees residing both inside and outside Afghanistan. The findings reveal widespread financial insecurity, erosion of professional identity, heightened psychological stress, and increased household dependency following job loss. At the same time, the study documents multiple forms of resilience, including engagement in informal income-generating activities, reliance on social and kinship networks, skill adaptation, community-based support mechanisms, and sustained aspirations for education and meaningful social participation despite restrictive political conditions. By foregrounding the lived experiences of Afghan women directly impacted by state policies, this research contributes to sociological debates on gender discrimination, labour exclusion, and resilience within authoritarian contexts. It challenges dominant victim-centred narratives by highlighting women’s agency, adaptability, and strategies of survival, and offers policy-relevant insights for policymakers, international organizations, and human rights actors addressing the long-term social and economic consequences of gender-based employment restrictions in conflict-affected societies.

Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Labour Exclusion; Afghan Women; Public Sector Employment; Taliban Rule